Doctor Who: The Mazes of Time
by JacobKragoff- 2nd Account
Summary: The Ponds weren't the Doctor's only companions in this life. He and his new companion, Erika, will both face dangers of their own as the greatest monsters in the universe make their plans, the Clock ticks and the anomaly grows, time is torn piece by piece and only the last of the Time Lords can stop it. But will he be able to lose somebody else?
1. Prologue

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the beginning of a trilogy that will eventually lead up to a spin off series for a certain new character of mine introduced into my own take of Moffat's Doctor Who series. These stories are partly based on the iPod touch DW game "Mazes of Time" the PlayStation game "The Eternity Clock" and one of the stories from the DW Adventure Games. Also, the first scene here can be found on YouTube animated by Timelash, a very excellent video indeed. I suggest you all check out Timelash's brilliant YouTube series "The Dalek that Time Forgot". Other plot twists and points are mine and mine alone along with any characters not recognized from the Who universe except for the characters from the Lost in Space movie (not the show).

Thank you for joining me here. This is my first Doctor Who story and I truly hope to do it justice. Remember to review whenever you have a thought and please do NOT simply skip the reviewing button, all thoughts are welcomed whether complimentary or simply constructive criticism. Enjoy…

_DOCTOR WHO: MAZES OF TIME_

_PART ONE: TOGETHER_

PROLOGUE

The endless saucer carried itself through the farthest reaches of space. It rose over the blackened bloodshot planet like an emerging sun. Several smaller, identical vessels were dangling in the pitch dark airless sky, following their leader with blind faith and unquestionable loyalty. _The Stormageddon_, as the mother ship had been entitled, carried aboard it the most dangerous Empire in the twelve nearest galaxies to the small blue planet of the Humans. Earth, however, was not of any importance to the Daleks as of now.

The atrium was as tall as a skyscraper and the ceiling loomed over the battle commanders like a sky pervaded with stars. Beneath it stood two tall, wide machines that stood on a rising podium. In front of them, there was a bottomless pit with nothing but darkness held inside like a bowl of spoiled soup. Beneath them, hovering over the pit, was a small control center containing two more identical machines. The machines stared at computer consoles with pointed black eyestalks as their extended claws worked circular controls that drove the ship through the entirety of the universe.

Sliding off of the podium was the Supreme Dalek. The wide machine was truthfully a metal shell driven by a much more callous creature inside. The shell was bright silver with black balls draped along its side, a small plasma rifle sticking out where a left hand would normally rest and one long black claw gripping at the air around it, protracting from the right socket.

Behind the Supreme stood the Eternal, its second in command. The Eternal Dalek was completely black with electric ruby colored bumps that were lit through the gloom. Its eyestalk was fixed on its leader as he (or it) rode down next to a third Dalek.

The dark navy blue Dalek was using its grey claw to control a view screen, revealing the dying red planet below.

"EXITING TIME CORRIDOR," the Dalek screeched, speaking in the garishly amplified electronic voice of its race.

As the screen flickered to life, the Supreme Dalek looked down into the center near the pit. There were two final Daleks standing there, one red as blood with golden bumps and a silver claw, the other white as snow with three eyestalks that circled around one another like a wheel, each lit up a different techno styled color. Instead of a claw or a weapon, the Dalek had several assorted instruments with many different uses. Some were used for technologically experimental usage while the others were intended for new and improved ways of the torturing of flesh.

These were the Paradigm Daleks. The silver and black was Supreme, the black and red was Eternal, the blue and grey was Strategist, red was the battle commander and the white was the Scientist.

"SCIENTIST," the Supreme called. "CONFORMATION?"

The white Dalek turned to observe its master.

"SCANS REVEAL IT IS THE PLANET SCARO!" the Scientist responded.

"MAINTANE A GEOSTANTIONARY ORBIT," the Supreme ordered, turning away.

"I OBEY!"

The Strategist was then ordered by the genocidal Dalek to give the invasion command to the crowd of Dalek drones that were crowded together in the other ships, awaiting their orders to follow immediately.

They looked up expectantly, anxiously preparing for battle as the Strategist ordered Phase One of a so called _Operation Scaro_. As the drones excitedly screeched "WE OBEY!" the Supreme returned to its position next to the Eternal.

The Eternal waited for a moment before the Supreme began to speak again, its deep toned words etching themselves into the pages of universal history.

"SCARO WILL BE REBORN," it proclaimed, confident of their newest plan.

"WE WILL BE VICTORIOUS!"

The plan had only just begun…

The Doctor wasn't even ready…

PROLOGUE PART TWO

The scattered, torn leaves and papers danced along the streets in a disordered fashion as the wind blew them apart from each other, separating them. The losses compared to that of the human race, facing goodbyes daily as surely as the sun did rise. And as the nighttime wind gusted over the empty Cardiff streets, two men appeared from what seemed like nowhere.

The first man had short cut dark hair with a perfectly structured jaw, glistening eyes, and a long WWII army coat wrapped around his muscular body tightly as he gripped the small form of a five year old boy.

Standing across from him at the other end of the street, another person was standing with his large eyes on the first man, his right eye covered slightly by the thick stream of chocolate brown hair that reached from the top of his head. Like the other, he sported a long dark coat except that his was grayish green without the US army likeness. He too carried a child, another boy also of about the age of five. Both children had brown hair, the first's lighter than the others, and they were both snuggling up to the men that carried them as they lay in deep slumbers. The peaceful world around them did not exist in their minds, simply the glories and wonders of their induced dreams as they flew through their thoughts and desires. Neither of them had a single care in the world.

The second man, the one with the green coat and the long hair, walked forward in a determined stance, still facing his opposite as he stopped in the middle of the street, waiting. The other reluctantly shuffled forward, looking like he would give anything to turn away and run, hiding from the inevitable. After all, it was something both men had done for countless years.

Finally, he reached where the second man stood and both looked at each other for the longest moment.

After a while, the man with the long hair spoke.

"He'll sleep for hours," he whispered, still carefully cradling the child in his thin arms. "And when he wakes up…he won't remember anything. Not me…not his mother….not his _home_."

The man's voice broke slightly at the final word, but he tried to regain himself, bottling the emotions deep within his two hearts.

"Mine's ready too," the first man continued, aware that his friend would hardly be able to keep talking. "I made all the preparations. I got the teleporters and the, uh, the drug's in his system. He might wake up before Adriac, though."

"That's fine," muttered the other. "Knowing how you've always acted, he'll probably be like Adriac's older brother."

The army coated man smirked, feeling himself begin to wonder into the depths of his own memory. Of course, the man in front of him was a different person then. Come to think of it, so was he.

After another long lived silence, the first man set the boy down onto the concrete, hoping the sudden loss of comfort wouldn't wake him. It was doubtful, but a father always made sure to worry no matter what the rational explanations. He leaned down and prepared to be parted from yet another figure in his life. By the time he was next to the boy's freckled face, a small shining tear had spilt from his eye. Now prepared, he fastened a small silver wristband with a beautiful blue and green crystal attached onto the child's small wrist. He made sure it was adjusted to fit perfectly and then raised himself up, not taking his ancient eyes off of the boy.

"Goodbye," he uttered under his heavy breath, starting to back away as the long haired man stooped down as well.

He placed the tiny child next to the first boy and made sure they were shuffled close to one another, before leaning closer inward. He did not fight the unrelenting tears that filled his eyes and rained down his cheeks. He did not speak just yet as his firmly pursed lips threateningly trembled. He waited before he was ready and then finally began to whisper to his son.

"I was a father before you. Long before you, actually."

He paused before continuing as the wind rose up again.

"I had a whole family…even a granddaughter named Suzan. You would have liked her….She would have loved you." He smiled a little when he paused. "You used to run about the TARDIS with a fez…calling it cool."

The tears quickened and now the man's entire body was trembling.

"Your mum never forgave me for that…Imagine how she feels about this. I wish it could be different, but I can never let them find you. There's too much at stake and I cannot risk you being taken from me by any hand but my own. You belong in a world of beauty and wonder. A dream world, of sorts. I thought that was what I was giving people when I asked them to come away with me…In the end though, I just gave them a nightmare….Daleks and demons and fallen gods with relentless power…How could a child survive that? It's hard to believe that I survived it."

He brushed the boy's thick brown hair out of his face as the five year old quietly licked his lips and grinned as if he dreamt of the most tasteful food. The man saw something else in his smile, though…the same exact wonder he had felt when he first escaped the confines of the Academy and had stolen his home just to travel the universes…Beauty to say the least.

"I am going to give you the most amazing wonderland to grow up in, Adriac," he continued. "I know what you've always wanted to be and do. I promise that will be your world. The place you're going to, it can be anything you want. And everything inside of it will be real, to you!" He then laughed a little under his breath. "And you'll have the boy who lived by your side. The child who can never die, just like his father. And you will live a life I never could have imagined. Just remember, please, Mummy loves you….Daddy loves you. Amy loves you. Rory adores you. Jack does too, I hope. I'd say you'll be alright, that you'll be fine…but you won't. You will be amazing…"

He kissed Adriac Song's cheek one final time and allowed the tears to stream as he arose, and nodded to Jack.

The boys had somehow both found each other's hands and were holding them, both wrists with the silver bracelets on them. The green orbs suddenly glowed bright blue and white light encased the two children, carefully carrying them away from this world and into their own Neverland.

When the light died, the two men stood alone and looked at each other for one heart wrenching moment before embracing each other as they tried to stifle sobs.


	2. Chapter One

_Mazes of Time_

_By JacobKragoff _

_Chapter One_

_The Mad Hatter with the Blue Box_

_If a tree falls in a forest with no one around to hear it, does it make a sound? What was it that came first; the chicken or the egg? Is a dream a nightmare or is a nightmare a dream?_

If there were answers to these philosophies, she was not aware of them. Glancing down at her homework, the young college student exhaled stridently before dropping her blue ball point pen on the table. She turned to face the clock on her nightstand which now read 2:05 a.m.; the numbers alight in emerald green. Next to that was a large sketch book with a small black velvet diary lying on top of it. A small picture frame hung from the wall above her bed, revealing a young girl with long chocolate brown hair that curled out at the ends, sticking out alongside her pale neck. Her eyes were wide with wonder at the simple world around her and they rested above a perfect small nose. Next to her was the figure of a woman with similar features and dirty blonde hair.

Erika turned away from the frame when she spotted the woman. Trying to ignore the sudden tear that had appeared glimmering in her left eye, she returned to her jaded homework. It held no value to her and she was sure that her harshly grading professor would deduct points for the image quality of her punctuation.

"_Ergh_," she muttered again, allowing her head to hang limply over the desk. The faint light of the table lamp soon faded in front of her as her eyes slid shut, sending her into the darkness and beauty of her mind, showing more light than all the suns in the universe could emanate.

_She fell through the rabbit hole, tumbling faster and faster as the cryptic objects flew about her, tossing her dark hair in front of her widened eyes. She saw wands and jewelry, pots and pans made of gold, strange green arms that were abstaining owners, remotes with green tips, dogs yipping playfully, bronze pocket watches; their hands spiraling out of control, over and over and over._

_ The light beneath her grew brighter and brighter, racing toward her faster and faster until she suddenly_

-awoke with her head on her desk, and her hair plastered along the surface. Hearing a small beep from her alarm clock, she stood swiftly and wheeled around, starring in horror at the time 9:24 a.m. glaring accusingly at her.

"Damn!" she shouted for no one else to hear.

As she stripped her clothing, leaped into the cold shower she had just run, she ran her hands through her tangled hair, continuously screeching the word "_Damn_" as vociferously as she could before jumping out again, narrowly missing collapsing on to the tiled floor.

The eighteen year old pulled on her clothes as fast as she could, the same ones as the day before, just as she heard the outside door open.

"May I just say; your shouting is greatly improving!" Jess called as he entered the tiny dorm. "I knew Americans liked to scream at everything for no reason but I take it you're probably-,"

"Late!" she yelped, cutting her English roommate off. "I can't be late, I've got a final essay due in my writing class and you know my philosophy professor can be such as a prat…"

"Oh, now I know you're adapting," the young Brit observed as he collapsed on his worn bed before pulling out his mobile. "Nobody in the states ever says _prat_."

Erika stood silently for a moment, staring at Jess.

"Oh my God, I've gone native," she gasped.

"Welcome to the club, love," the boy said, grinning widely.

He was not the "hottest" boy she knew but definitely he had some handsome features, lengthy brown hair styled to stand up on its own, a London accented voice, grey jeans with a pair of dark checkered Vans. He wore a buttoned up shirt underneath a skinny black jacket. His style was American, but the many boys he brought to the dorm at night were a variety of ethnicities; as were the girls. Erika had never known Cardiff was so diverse.

Realizing that she had been standing in the same place for over a minute, Erika turned and fled out the door, calling a quick farewell to her snickering roommate.

As she scurried through the corridors, Erika noticed several people giggling slightly. Ignoring them, she pressed on, perfectly aware of her tardiness. The wind whipped through her shambolic hair as she ran across campus. The clouds gathered around her, throwing her world into a midst of grey and cold. It had been so long since she had seen the sunlight.

"Welcome to class, Ms. Hellinger," Professor Tennant greeted, snidely as Erika burst in, barely catching her wheezing breath. "So good of you to finally join us. Tell me, has it really taken you this long to adjust to time changes from the states?"

The callous professor grinned broadly as the rest of his class chortled indigently. Erika clawed down the hair in front of her reddening face, hiding her humiliation as she collapsed into her back-of-the-room seat. Pulling out her textbook, she tried to look unaware of the palpable fact that the class's attention was still focused on her.

"Could you please continue from where we were just reading, Ms. Hellinger?" the cruel Scottish man inquired, dynamically.

Erika glared at the scratched surface of her desk before muttering that she did not know what page they were on. She attempted fruitlessly not to growl out the words as her classmates cackled once again.

"Now, now, class," Professor Tennant interrupted. "Calm down. Er, we are all aware that the failing school system of the Red, White, and Blue country may be the reason for Ms. Hellinger's issues in terms of work ethic."

One boy, a blonde child by the name of Draco, could hardly contain his excitement as he burst out laughing. The professor rolled his large brown eyes.

"Shut up, Malloy, you're from North Ireland, and they're not that much better."

It was Erika's turn to snicker now. At least until…

"As I said, Ms. Hellinger, could you please pick up from where we left off? We were reading PHILOSOPHY. Remember that word? PHIL-OS-O-PHY…"

She bit down on her bottom lip, trying not to throw the entire desk, let alone her textbook, down at the scrawny bastard. Instead, she simply laughed a little before looking up.

"Did you forget the fact that your job is to read from a book and give your unappreciated opinion, MR. Tennant? After all, those who can't do, TEACH."

The entire hall was in silence.

Tennant stared at his smirking student with a furious face before whispering in a dark toned voice

"What…did you just say to me?"

Erika grinned and began to reply in nice, slow words

"Those…who can-NOT do…Teach. T…E…A…,"

"Get the Hell out of my class, Hellinger!" barked the professor. "Good luck with your bloody credit, youcanjusneverexcpecttacomeb ahck!"

The class tried not to start balling with laughter as their teacher's accent got the better of him. He pointed one of his lengthy skin-and-bones fingers at the door, Erika packed her things away and turned to face him one final time, her stature tall and contented.

"Oh, and by the way," she began. "The American public school system has been surpassing that of Scotland's, sir, let alone the private system. It also helps that we don't have a fashion that gives men an excuse to cross-dress."

The infuriated Scot stared down at his own striped kilt. The class could barely hold it in much longer.

Satisfied, Erika turned to walk out into the corridor, exiting with a pompous imitation of her peers, "Cheerio!"

…

_The objects weren't falling like her, but flying, soaring wherever they desired. Erika's eyes flashed with the light of them all. Watches, emeralds, crowns, wands, hats, bowties, walking sticks, a clown mask, an eyestalk, a metal arm, a brown dog, a bat-like monster, a crystal skull, a book titled something about a Melody Malone, two gnarled claws, a blue door, and a sparking wrist strap. _

_ Just as she blinked, a terrifying face of a demon appeared in front of her, made entirely of stone. Why was the demon's face on an angel's body?_

_ It vanished as it soared away from her, revealing a large blue box coming nearer, about to collide with her!_

Suddenly, Erika found herself ripped away from her reveries and back into the disheartening realms of her own reality.

_That is, if it even is reality_, she considered with a shudder.

Looking up, Erika saw the face of Jess grinning down at her. Frustratingly, he patted her on the shoulder, making her twitch slightly. She rolled her eyes and slumped forward, slamming her head on the discarded notebook and smudging a drawing.

"You need a vacation," Jess began, walking over to slump into his chair. "This school isn't good for you."

"Well, you don't have to make me feel stupid," Erika slurred into her paper. "I know I'm failing, but-,"

"I didn't mean that," Jess corrected, pointing his index finger directly at her exhausted self. "I was actually implying that the school isn't good enough _for you_."

Erika looked up at him and couldn't help but allow the smallest hint of a smile to appear on her disgruntled expression. She leaned back in her chair as he beamed right back at her, perfectly content with having evaded another emotional crisis. It wasn't until he caught a glance at her drawing that Jess began to look perplexed.

"Erika," he started to inquire. "What the hell is that on your picture?"

Erika turned to look at where he was indicating and saw a shaded drawing of what looked like outer space. There were brilliant stars littered all over the dry crinkles of the page and a shower of meteors falling against a large spaceship; though it did not even look remotely like a space vessel but was actually a flying replica of the _Titanic_. Below that was a dark saucer, such as the ones people thought they had photographed in the fifties. The saucer was firing what looked like lasers at a large black cube that was orbiting a small grayish green planet. Another ship flew in the midst of all the mania, what looked like a _Star Trek _starship and behind it, a small blue box.

The box was the most curious part of the entire sketch. It had no remarkable qualities, other than the fact that it was flying in outer space, and that its doors seemed to be open. A small figure of a man was leaning out, a very strange man. Erika felt as if she'd laid eyes on him before, he had a familiar bow tie scribbled below his long neck that supported a fairly large head with a thick mass of chocolate brown hair that fell over his right eye. On his back was a light brown tweed suit and he seemed to be gripping some sort of metal wand, alight with green at the very end. His most outstanding feature was that even though he was staring into the core of a galactic battle with several enemies and dangers appearing before him, he was smiling.

"I…I don't remember drawing that," Erika whispered with wonder.

"It's a good pic, I'll give it that," Jess put in. "-but I know that guy. I've seen him somewhere; I just can't put my finger on it."

Erika nodded and looked closer. She studied the face of the man much more closely and raised an eyebrow when she saw what he was actually smiling at.

He was looking straight at her.

…

Twelve o'clock at night. Midnight. Students abandon studies and crowd into the confides of a single fraternity house, grinding against one another as the toss alcohol and clothes through the air. The chaos is mixed with drama, love, joy, anger, and sex.

Erika stood to the side awkwardly as she watched her peers dancing through the darkness, ignoring the pain of the over looming morning and what is to come as they drink and rave away their obstacles. Erika looked down at the untouched beer in her snow white hand and sighs in spite of it all. How she did envy her schoolmates.

Throughout the night, some people came up to praise her on her uproar against Tennant. They told her how brave she was and how they wish they could be just like her. She laughs a little, thinking inside her head how strange it is to even be her, let alone wish it on someone else. So, she thanked them for their compliments and retired to one of the only bare spots on the sofa, ignoring Jess and Andrew Radcliffe caressing one another, Jess running his hands through Andrew's thick black hair as he kissed him continually.

"Jess?" Erika interjected.

"Yeah?" he answered, pulling his face away from a now grumbling Andrew. "What's up?"

"Do you remember that picture I drew earlier?" she began. "Or, whenever I drew it."

Andrew rolled his puppy brown eyes as Jess put an arm around Erika's shoulders, trying to relax her.

"Don't worry about it, Hellinger," Jess continued. "We all forget a few things we did every now and then, it happens. Maybe you just had a few too many one late night and-,"

"I don't drink, Jess," Erika put in, hotly.

"Well, you should, it takes loads of my mind," Jess joked as he stood, dragging Andrew along behind him.

Jess had always had a tendency to get distracted at parties, and Erika understood. He always paid her the upmost attention and had given her a lot of advice over the course of two school years. One of her term papers was edited by, or rewritten by, him in an attempt to make amends for inviting yet another stranger over to their dorm. She gave him credit for these things and never minded so much as he didn't insult her, allowing him to indulge himself at these many parties. She did wish that she had stayed at home, though.

Erika despised the Cardiff college parties, as she referred to them, almost as much as she detested beer. The main way she wanted to spend her evening was sitting by a fireplace with a science fiction program on and a nice cup of hot chocolate.

Or even tea, as she had gone quite native.

The night continued, shorter than the life of the party. Some students ended up lying down on top of already slumbering peers, probably not even noticing. Erika rolled her eyes before standing and crossing over to where she knew the bathroom was, hoping against hope that it wasn't already 'occupied'.

She entered the loo, shaking the hair out of her face as she locked the door. Suddenly, a low humming noise emitted from behind her. Turning, she saw a hole in the middle of the floor. She looked closely at it and noticed that it was expanding! The humming noise grew louder and light filled the air, pouring out from the gap. There was another noise as well. It was a sort of inhale and exhale of air, screeching as if by an engine. It was one of the strangest noises she had ever heard but as she did, her mind suddenly flashed an image of the small blue box in her drawing.

Peering into the tear, she watched the light form into beautiful shapes, corridors and gadgets and glowing walls, looking like some sort of child's fun house. Her eyes were fixed on the world below her as she started to plummet down into the long, winding halls.

…

Awake!

She stood, placing her pale hand to her throbbing head. The sound of a faint humming, taken from her dreams, was emitting from the walls. Erika looked around to see that she was standing in a long, winding corridor with dimly lit electric lights and circles with glowing devices in the middle all scattered on the walls. The lights came from them as did the humming.

Where am I? wondered Erika.

She looked above her to see the ceiling had no hole in it; therefore there was no way to go back the same way she came. Instead, she gathered her strength and began to speed down the corridor, taking odd turns randomly as if hoping to find something that would help her. Though this place was from her dreams, it was as unfamiliar and eccentric as outer space.

"Tick tock!" called a voice from…somewhere.

Erika wheeled around in shock to find a small man sitting in a chair set against the wall. He was portly with a hairless head and dark, piercing eyes that glared at her above a sinister grin. His suit was tweed with a black bow tie around his collar. He sat comfortably, with a sense of calamity, as if he owned the place where Erika now stood. The man rubbed two stubby fingers together in thought before he continued speaking.

"You're a rather delicate thing, aren't you?"

His voice was normal, yet it sent chills down Erika's spine. Perhaps its unnerving feel was due to its normality.

Erika stared back at him before opening her mouth to reply.

"Who are you?" she questioned, her voice a shaky tone. "Where the hell am I?"

The man's grin broadened and he snickered a little.

"Why, you're in wonderland, Miss Hellinger," said he. "And I am perhaps the all-knowing caterpillar of the story. Now what would that make you, my dear?"

Erika was bewildered at his words, but decided to answer.

"That would make me Alice," she responded. "But what has that got to do with anything?"

"Think of the story of the little misunderstood girl who fell down that fateful rabbit hole," the man began, standing. He was very slight. "The young child fell into a mysterious world that held magic and power that she could not explain. She was forced into an adventure she could never understand and then she grows up and lives HAPPILY ever…after!"

He ended the last sentence with mock in his voice as he flung his hands up in an imitation of a dancing girl. All the time, he kept the same look on his face.

"It was a very strange world, indeed. And what was the most perplexing thing about it, Ms. Hellinger?"

Erika shook her head, still confused.

"There was no time!" the man shouted. "No time in the world. Then how was the little rabbit always late? How did anyone have deadlines? If one could exist in a world where there was no time, well...what could possibly go wrong?"

He had come closer now, backing Erika near a wall as his black, tunnel-like eyes met hers. She looked at him closely, trying to decide what all of this could be about. She thought it might be a dream, but then again, she suddenly found herself praying it was anything but.

"I have a little game for you, Erika," the man explained. "You like games, don't you? Ooh, I love a game! Didn't you used to play them with your mummy?"

Erika tried not to quiver at the mention of her mother. She had enough things on her mind without that old mystery coming back. By the look of the man's eyes…he knew.

"Well, this game you'll love. All you have to do is find your way through this wondrous maze and to the center of it. Throughout the game you will face puzzles and temptations but remember what your goal is! I may come to guide you every now and then, but rest assured I am no helper. Just play the game."

He turned away from her and began to saunter away before turning on his heel to gaze at her with a dark, captivating smile.

"And don't worry about time running out," he crooned. "Here in your wonderland, there is no time at all! Tick tock!"

Erika blinked to see an empty space where the man stood.

The corridors winded into one another, never ending and never revealing a door or even a window. Erika tore through the passageways, looking around her at all times. There was nothing, no traps or puzzles or people or hints of anything. She stopped running and leaned over to catch her breath, thinking that she was now alone.

TAP TAP

She shot up at the noise, hoping that it was something friendly.

TAP TAP TAP TAP

She beamed, recognizing the sounds of footsteps. Two footsteps, to be exact!

TAP TAP TAP TAP

TAP TAP TAP TAP

She raised an eyebrow. The footsteps sounded as if the two people were marching in perfect unison.

She began to walk toward the noise as it came from behind a corner. She walked around it to find two of the strangest looking men she had ever beheld.

"State your Rank and intent!" ordered one of the two, pointing a gloved finger at her.

He stood parallel to an identical man, a twin perhaps, who was also glaring at Erika accusingly. They were both very short, perhaps four feet tall, and had heads that resembled the shape and color of baked potatoes. They each had a small wrinkled nose and rotted, pointy teeth as they opened their mouths to shout.

"Answer me, fool!" cried the first man.

"If you do not, then we will be forced to execute you!" yelled the second.

Erika then realized what she had originally mistaken for costumes of a sort where actually uniforms, blue and grey and made of a sort of leather.

"Well?" they both snapped together.

Erika paused to take in the sight of the rather unintimidating villains.

"Er…" she started. "What exactly would you execute me with?"

Neither man replied at first but they instead looked at one another as if to ask the same question. Then, they turned to face her again.

"We would not be the ones to execute you, but our master would. He is the general of this timeless land."

"Timeless…" Erika repeated, recalling the words of the small man. "Okay, so if this place has no time, then how are any of us even moving? Shouldn't we be frozen or something?"

"It can all be explained by the general," the second man clarified. "Do you need forced escorting or would you kindly follow us?"

"The second one, I think," Erika decided aloud.

The men nodded before walking past her and toward a very lofty set of blue doors she knew had not been there a second ago. Or had they been?

Ignoring this detail, as stranger things had happened, Erika followed the two through the doors. Inside was a large room with several pieces of her dreams lying about like clutter. She recognized them, watches and screwdrivers with top hats and doors. There were even large framed posters of her drawing hanging on the never ending wall. A hundred torches blazed above them, each with a different light. Green, blue, red, orange, brilliant yellow…

And sitting astride an impressive thrown, that sat upon the tallest pile of rubbish, was a lanky man with a suit and tie that matched that of the man she had seen earlier. However, it was a different person with long brown hair that hung over his right eye, a huge green and gray top hat that sat on top. He had a pointed chin and a handsome smile, yet a sort of mysterious air about him. When Erika blinked, he was no longer wearing the tweed suit but instead a long black jacket that looked torn and filthy.

A large pocket watch clung onto an attached chain and the man was tossing a golden wand in his right hand, clicking it and causing a small green light to flash at the end. The fingers on his left hand drummed the arm of the throne thoughtfully as he watched Erika enter the threshold. The doors slammed shut when he snapped once, the sound echoing across the hall.

"Who are you?" he inquired.

His voice was not evil, yet it did not settle Erika's anxiety. The fires of the torches reflected a vast shadow of the man on the ceiling, so large that Erika found herself addressing it instead of the man.

"My name is Erika Hellinger," she called up to him. "I fell down into…wherever the hell I am, and I demand to know who you are!"

"This is our general," introduced the first of the small pair. "His name is the Doctor!"

Erika frowned and looked more closely at the figure. She knew she had seen him before; he was the mad man from her dreams. He had appeared on the picture and now was sitting above her. He smiled rather kindly, yet his eyes were wide and crazed. He stood and started to clamber down the mountain of objects till he finally reached the floor. His coat flapped around him as he landed.

"Welcome to my home," he greeted before bowing so low she imagined his hat would slip off.

"Um, thank you," Erika replied. "But where exactly are we?"

The Doctor raised himself, standing taller than Erika but still with that same smile on his face. He looked excited, erratic, and maybe a little bit dangerous. He looked above at the towering ceiling before answering.

"Well, in an essence, we are in two different places at the same time," explained the Doctor. "We are in both my home, a sort of blue box, and we are also in you."

Erika was taken aback.

"Me? How are we in me? I'm me!"

The Doctor looked at her with a slightly disappointed look, possibly even a sorrowful one. He directed her toward the doors where they entered before speaking again.

"There are a lot of things even I don't understand at the moment, Erika," he said. "And I promise you that together we can both find out. But you have to trust me completely, do you understand that?"

She looked into his eyes like she had the other man. His eyes were very, very different. They were larger, fuller of life, with green circling the black and yet so much age to them. These were the eyes of an old man, one who had lived for longer than Erika could realize. And yet they rested on a young, fresh face.

And in that single moment of wonder, she nodded to him.

"Good," said he. "Now listen very carefully to me. This place is full of both dreams and nightmares. You have to be able to see which is which and also what is real and what is a lie."

"But…how can I do that when none of this could ever really be real?" Erika asked. "This has to be some sort of dream. Maybe I, oh I don't know, maybe I passed out at the party?"

"Really?" the Doctor whispered. "Do you truly believe that anything like this could ever have so simple an ending? This is not just your dream, Erika Hellinger. It's mine."

He winked as if giving a hint before suddenly vanishing along with the entire room. Erika stood in a brand new room instead, one that seemed to have three corridors connected to it. It was dark with green light coming from a sort of console that stood on an elevated glass floor and she could see faint images in front of her.

It was the Doctor, as hazy as he was, leaning up against the console as two people walked next to him. One was a tall girl with moon white skin and long, fiery red hair. Behind her stood an awkward man with short cut brown hair, a very prominent nose, and a bewildered expression. Erika sympathized completely.

The trio was talking about something; Erika could hardly make out what. It was the Doctor's voice that rang out the loudest. He spoke of some sort of crystals that had fallen into the engines, though what engines he was speaking of, Erika was not sure, before holding them up for the others to see. He explained that they induced the three of them in a dream state and created somebody called the Dream Lord. When the other two asked who the Dream Lord was the entire time, the Doctor turned and said

"Oh, wasn't it obvious?"

"It was me," said the voice of the small man.

Erika turned slowly to see him standing in front of her, or at least somebody was. Though he spoke with the Dream Lord's voice, he was instead a very tall and long haired man with a black hoody and jeans. His hair that stuck out of the hood was pointed and pure white.

He walked toward Erika, giggling. She backed away as the images of the Doctor and his companions faded away. The man was coming closer and closer with his hands twitching at his sides.

"Don't you remember me, my dear?" he asked, sounding mockingly hurt. "All of those years you and I spent with one another? I was abandoned by the Doctor after our little game and yet I still existed, born from his own confused and aged mind. Thank you oh so much for giving me a home, but now I'm afraid, I am breaking out!"

"I'm sorry," said the voice of the Doctor.

Erika turned to see him standing behind her, his long jacket still across his shoulders and his top hat still on top of his chocolate brown hair. He was looking at Erika with mournful eyes, those aged eyes.

"I tried to warn you," he told her. "It may feel like we were in that room only a minute ago, but I've been waiting for a while now. We're both trapped in this world, Erika, and you're the only one who can free us. Please, you have to concentrate."

"And why should you trust him?" the other man asked. "He's the one who made me, and I'm the one who made you!"

He pulled off his hood and Erika saw that he had the same exact face of the Doctor. His eyes looked intensely at her as he smirked.

"Poor little Erika Hellinger," he said. "So much fear inside. Not even able to withstand the power of her own dreams. But how can you say that I am the nightmare? You used to see me in your worst dreams, of course, but in all of those dreams you survived. How do you know if I was the one trying to hurt you or if I was the one trying to protect you? He was the one who made this dream and it hasn't exactly been a walk in the park for you, has it? Maybe he's the nightmare!"

"Don't listen to him, Erika! I promise I can help you!" the Doctor cried out. "I never meant to make him and I never thought that he would survive past the last time we met. Please understand me, Erika, I would never hurt you. I came here to help and I will, you have to believe me. He's been manipulating your life ever since you were a small child. He had something to do with your mother's disappearance and together we can both find her!

If you don't believe me then none of us will survive, we'll be trapped in your own mind, a dream world that nobody can control but him! The mind is both the greatest tool and the greatest danger to a human, but you can use it and fight him!"

Erika stared over at the Doctor as he pleaded with her and then at the smiling Dream Lord. She looked into the eyes of both men.

The Doctor's eyes were old, yes, but they had color and light and warmth and kindness. The Dream Lord's eyes were young, and unstained, but they were dark and cold and evil to the core.

"I know who I trust," she finally said.

She grabbed a hold of a lever on the console, somehow knowing it would do what she wanted.

"I trust myself!" she shouted.

She pulled the lever and the double doors near her swung open, revealing a swirling mass of a thousand objects she had seen in her dreams, all flying in a massive and deadly swarm. Clocks, guns, pictures, paintings, screwdrivers, knives, people, snow, water, light, all swimming in front of her as she held on for her life.

The Doctor grabbed a hold of a railing as the Dream Lord flew past the two of them, screeching with agony as he lost his hold on Erika Hellinger for all time.

He vanished in a gigantic haze of dreams as the doors slammed shut one final time.

Erika and the Doctor stood there, both inhaling several deep breaths. The Doctor looked up at her with astonishment and then, gradually, began to smile. It was not broad and cruel like his counterpart's had been, but handsome and sincere. His lily green eyes were fixed on the young girl in front of him and in those eyes, one could see pride.

"Well done, Erika Hellinger," he began. "You did it. You conquered your nightmares. Now all that's left are dreams. You're free."

She stood there for the longest time, thinking to herself. All these years without her mother, she had been plagued with nightmarish visions, haunted beyond belief. She had grown up without affection, an orphan without a friend in the world, and had barely made it to the university she would never be able to pass. Her artistic talents thrown aside, her family lost in the mazes of time, and her whole life ruined. Until the Doctor came…

Erika looked up at the Doctor and did something she hadn't done in years. She smiled. It was not pretend, she did not wear it to lie and say she was fine, and she knew that it was the perfect match for the beaming mad man in front of her.

But then, his smile faltered. He looked down at the glass floor and struggled to find words.

"I've lived for over a thousand years, Erika," he told her. "I have died time and time again, only to become a new man. In all of the centuries, I have travelled with companions…with friends…" He paused here and looked up at Erika with those heartfelt eyes looking through hers and into her soul. He saw the beauty within her mind and knew then that she was destined for greatness beyond measure. And yet…

"You need to wake up," he said.

After a pause, Erika said, "I don't understand."

The Doctor kept watching her, never blinking.

"Once lost, something can be found again. But I'm sorry, you're going to have to wait. The Dream Lord has no power in the real world, but only in the mind. He possessed you and has had you doing things you never thought you would. You're nightmares were real, Erika, they were always real. And he knew how to use that."

"Doctor…," Erika began.

"Erika, please-," the Doctor tried to put in.

"No, Doctor, tell me what happened!" Erika suddenly shouted, quivering with fear and fury. She looked straight at the traveler and waited for him to admit the truth to her.

And after a pause, the Doctor finally did.

"Your mother died, Erika," he said. "Many years ago when you were just a little girl. Nobody knows how, but I do know that it was because of the Dream Lord. He may have even used you."

Erika tried to stand as her head burned with shock. She did not even gasp, but instead allowed her gaze to waver as tears began to well up in her eyes.

"You haven't been growing up in an orphanage…you've been in an asylum ever since you were little. You never went to university, you never acted in those plays when you were in grade school, and the boy you call your best friend may not even exist. All this time, you've been living in a wonderland…a dream."

The tears fell across her cheeks as her bottom lip shook. She felt the lever on the console, hardly daring to believe in its existence.

"Are you real?" she asked. "Are you real or just a figment of my imagination? All of those drawings I did growing up in the orph…in the asylum…Are you just another one of my dreams? Something I read or…saw on TV? Please tell me you're real, Doctor."

Before he could respond, light began to fill the room. There was no sound and the words of her savior were lost in time. She cried out for him but saw nothing in front of her. She could not hear the sound of her own voice or see her own hands in front of her. She could not feel the ground beneath her feet or taste the air she breathed. It was then that she realized that this was simply a dream.

And finally…she awoke.

…

Her doctor said that her dreams were simply nightmares and that she would be able, one day, to conquer them. A human could control their own mind.

_Funny, she thought she had already conquered her nightmares. _

She sat on a bench in the midst of woods, resting. This was a far as they were allowed to come while living at the institution. Well, it was a little bit farther but she didn't think it made much of a difference.

She wore a black T-shirt with pictures of her favorite band, _Panic at the Disco_, and slim blue jeans. Her hair was hanging over her eyes and she reminded herself to get it trimmed later. In her right hand was a pencil, which she guided across the paper, creating images, stories.

If she was ever sane enough to leave here, or whenever _they _felt she was sane enough, Erika knew it would be time to write a little story. A tale that she had been thinking about for quite some time. She had thought of many titles. _A Tale of Impossible Things. The Time Lord Victorious. The Madman in the_ _Blue Box. _

Yet she always found herself arriving to the same title over and over again…_Doctor Who._

The cover was what needed work. So here she sat, shading in a tall box she had dreamt of, apparently ever since she was a little girl. She remembered having a dream a fortnight ago about running about in that box. She knew she could for it was bigger on the inside. She had dreamt of seeing the villains and wonders of her dreams appear and had even discovered a so-called truth about what happened to her mother. It was not true of course. Her real mother had vanished when she was little. Unfortunately, Erika had never really recovered.

As she sat there, finishing the writing at the top of the box, she thought about how wonderful it would be if the time machine was real. If that wonderful, insane man was truth. The Doctor, the man who burned through stars and the vortex of space. The one who could do anything.

Last night, she had heard a noise in her mind. It was a strange whirring, like air being sucked through an engine and spat out again. Yet, it was a wonderful noise. It was beautiful and terrible and…hopeful.

And…and…there it was again.

"What?" muttered Erika quietly as she placed the drawing pad down on her lap.

Just as she lowered the picture of the box, the real thing replaced it. The tall blue Police Box was standing right in front of her, in between two tall trees. As red and brown autumn leaves circled around it, the doors opened and there he stood.

The Doctor was smiling again. It was the same beautiful smile he had given her in her dreams throughout all the years as he protected her from the nightmares of her mind. He had on a small, aged tweed suit and sported a red bow tie with matching suspenders. His pants were chocolate brown, like his hair, and he had lily green eyes that looked at Erika, seeing the beauty and magic she was capable of.

Erika stood and began to walk toward him, as if in a trance. It was real. Everything was real! The Doctor, the blue box, and the wonders of the universe she had seen in all of her dreams. It was all real!

He held out a hand and she took it.

"Welcome aboard," he said.

_Note: New chapters coming soon with brand new adventures featuring the Eleventh Doctor and his newest companion, Erika. This story takes place in between the ends of the 2011 Christmas special and the start of season 7, just to be clear. Stay tuned for more! Don't forget to review what you thought, giving compliments or constructive criticism. What do you think of Erika and what characters from New-Who would you like to see next? Are you excited about the side story of Adriac Song and his companion, the son of Jack Harkness, who both may or may not show up in the future? Well, then leave a review! _

_Geronimo _

_-JacobKragoff _


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